This Asian Crispy Sesame Chicken is a delicious homemade alternative to that naughty takeaway!
I think I need to get me some bees.
The amount of honey we go through on toast (Gracey’s obsession) and in cooking makes we wonder why we don’t have a honey store like Winnie the Pooh! Honey filled Breakfast lollies, sticky Asian Pork Belly, balsamic-honey salad dressings., Asian Ribs, Sticky Pork Belly Burger, Chinese Crispy Chicken with Honey Garlic Sauce, Chris even uses it in his Chilli Con Carne just install a honey-line into my house and let’s be done with it.
This crispy sesame chicken is another one for the honey archives. Sweet, salty, crispy, sticky and a little bit spicy – it covers all the bases for one of these meals that everyone polishes off. Not a scrap left.
Even while photographing this one I caught Chris hovering over the pan that had a few pieces of chicken still in it – waiting till I wasn’t looking so he could sneak a few pieces!
I let him off with the proviso that he fed me a piece too whilst I was snapping away.
I love this as an alternative to the Friday night takeaway. Can’t deny it’s not the healthiest meal – with the honey and brown sugar, and of course a little oil to crisp up that chicken – but it’s still way better than take-out. I serve mine with some steamed brocolli and sugar snap peas to just boost the health factor.
One thing I should say is that this isn’t a copycat recipe. I know sesame chicken is popular at Chinese takeout restaurants in the US, but it’s not something we really see on Chinese menus in the UK. I’ve never tasted the US version, so I can’t say it tastes anything like it.
It’s bloomin’ good though!
Equipment:
In order to make this Sesame Chicken recipe you will need:
- A good Kitchen knife. In the video I use my Leiths knife however I have recently bought this Dalstrong one and love it.
- Chopping Board
- Shallow White Bowls
- Measuring Jug
- Fying Pan/Skillet or a Wok.
- Wooden or Silicon Coated Spoons. We have just bought these and love them.
- A nice set of bowls to serve in. Something like these blue Bowls are really nice to serve in.
- Some Chopsticks for when you feel confident 🙂
The Crispy Sesame Chicken with a Sticky Asian Sauce Recipe:
Crispy Sesame Chicken with a Sticky Asian Sauce
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 3 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 10 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp garlic salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 3 chicken breast fillets chopped into bite-size chunks
Sauce: *
- 1 tbsp sesame oil optional - you can leave out and just sprinkle with plenty of sesame seeds at the end if you prefer
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tbsp Chinese rice vinegar white wine vinegar will work too
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce use more or less depending on the brand and how spicy you like it
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
To Serve:
- boiled rice
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- small bunch spring onions/scallions chopped
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan until very hot.5 tbsp vegetable oil
- Whilst the oil is heating, place the egg in one shallow bowl and the cornflour in another shallow bowl. Add the flour, salt, pepper, garlic salt and paprika to another shallow bowl and mix together.2 eggs, 3 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch), 10 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, ½ tsp garlic salt, 2 tsp paprika
- Dredge the chicken in the cornflour, then dip in the egg (make sure all of the chicken is covered in egg wash), and finally dredge it in the seasoned flour. Add to the wok and cook on a high heat for 6-7 minutes, turning two or three times during cooking, until well browned. You may need to cook in two batches (I find I can do it in one batch so long as it's no more than 3 chicken breasts). Remove from the pan and place in a bowl lined with kitchen towels.3 chicken breast fillets
- Add all of the sauce ingredients to the hot wok, stir and bubble on a high heat until the sauce reduces by about a third (should take 2-3 minutes). Add the chicken back in and toss in the sauce to coat. Cook for 1-2 minutes.1 tbsp sesame oil, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp Chinese rice vinegar, 2 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce, 3 tbsp ketchup, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 4 tbsp soy sauce
- Turn off the heat and divide between four bowls. Serve with boiled rice and top with sesame seeds and spring onions.boiled rice, 2 tbsp sesame seeds, small bunch spring onions/scallions
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors for more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
The sauce is amazing! I’m fairly picky on my Asian inspired sauces, as some can be too sweet with too much honey, or not sweet enough. But for me, this was delish!! Also my chicken turned out very crispy and moist! Great recipe!
This was ah-mazing! The corn starch-egg-flour dip make the chicken nice and crispy, not bready or soggy like the recipes I’ve tried in the past! I didn’t have chili paste, which was fine, because my three picky tiny humans devoured it! Thank you for such a great recipe, absolutely a keeper.
I always like trying new recipes but this one was disappointing. For starters, I needed twice as much of the flavored flour ,mixture and by the time I figured that out, my hands were coated in a lot of dough which made for a mess. Then, I needed 2 rather than 1 egg for coating the chicken and a little more sauce. (Actually, I might have just boiled it down too much.) Bottom-line, the results weren’t nearly worth all the effort. Unlike the other reviewers, I didn’t find this recipe either easy or delicious. Must have done something wrong!!
My mouth is literally on fire and I only used half the sweet chili recommended. (Doubled the rest of the sauce ingredients but only used one portion of that) And we like heat here! Also needed two eggs and twice the flour for just 2 chicken breasts. Next time I’ll just leave the chili sauce out completely and it would be great.
This was the best chicken nuggets recipe I’ve tasted by far!!!! Tasted exactly like the ones we did take away… from my local take out. (Or even better) and I come from a family of chefs…. grew up in th commercial kitchen… I made this for a friends party, the most asked for recipe in the party!!!! Now I’ll have to share the secret(it wasn’t my own)
Just made this tonight and it turned out exactly like the picture and was absolutely delicious. I had to substitute honey with syrup because I’m allergic and my family says they couldn’t taste a difference from this and a restaurant! Thank you for sharing this recipe 🙂
Thanks Emil, I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Made this today for my European and Asian family and everybody loved it! Not a crumb, chunk, or drip of sauce was left and everybody went for seconds, even thirds. Great recipe, not too complicated, and it’s so close to what they serve at my favorite Asian restaurant.
Awesome! I’m so please everyone liked it Mari. Thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment 🙂
Oh me, oh my… this is so delicious and easy Nicky – big thumbs all round 🙂 Unbelievably, I hadn’t re-stocked our empty Chilli Sauce bottle, so had to leave this out of the recipe – but it meant no comments of ‘it’s too spicy’ from the kids and you could taste all the other flavours… Winner, winner ‘sticky-chicken’ dinner !
Ha ha, excellent, thanks Carol, glad the family enjoyed it 🙂
Hi Nicky, new reader via Yummly here… would that be Thai sweet chili sauce, or Heinz tomato type?
I didn’t even realise Heinz did a chilli sauce 🙂 It’s the Thai type for this one, thanks Jodi.
I love homemade Chinese takeout and this looks perfectly delicious!
Thanks so much Nikki 🙂
Your pictures are making my mouth water! This looks so good! We love making Chinese food, but were running out of ideas. Definitely going to give this one a try sometime 😀
Thanks Kelsey, I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Do I need to clean the oil from the pan before I start my sauce?
Hi Ben, I generally don’t clean the oil from the pan, as the chicken absorbs a lot of it. If there’s more than a tablespoon of oil left in there, you could drain it out.
Awesome chicken dish, must try this, sadly no chicken breasts in house right now:-)
Thanks Camilla 🙂